A Change Of Scenery
by OneDayIShallHaveMyDegree
Summary: Alex Mercer goes to Seattle to investigate the Bio-terrorists that have supposedly been wreaking havoc on the city. During his search he meets Delsin, another super-powered person with much different morals than Alex. Will these two meet an agreement or will they butt heads to the point of an all-out fight? Read to find out.
1. Intro

**Eight years. Eight long years.**

Years filled with taking out simple criminals in the dark of night, consuming the homeless to live and maybe the occasional jackass, and trying not to draw attention to myself. A few close calls but nothing that I couldn't handle.

I've finally disappeared. Blackwatch has vanished and I don't even hear the civilians asking about what happened all those years ago. The media has forgotten and the news they made of me have disappeared into the ever-growing internet. There's only problem with all of that…

I think I've gone stir-crazy. I'm always trying to explore outside of the city but when I get to the bridges, something holds me back. Sometimes I think it's Dana, other times I think it's because I have no clue what is out there. My entire life, I've never been outside of Manhattan. The only memories I have that aren't in Manhattan aren't even my own. I see more grass than concrete, more sky than smog, so much more than what I have here. I just want to force myself to go but… I just can't.

Alex Mercer, one of the world's greatest threats, can't go over a _goddamn bridge._

During the first 2 years after the outbreak, Dana had her mind more focused on getting a good paying job rather than the news. She would read up on articles at the time but she didn't really care at the time. When there was a huge blue pulse one day, we got worried. Random people just up and died on the street, no warning what-so-ever. There were huge casualties across the world but it quickly died down after a year, like most things do. Nothing much after that. After a while, Dana got a few friends and a nice place, with a new job to boot. I just crashed at her place after that, letting the memories die in my head. Nothing much after that.

So, after all these years, I'll gladly take a mission someplace different.

"Wait, Seattle? Isn't that all the way on the opposite side of the country?" I asked that mainly because she would be staying back in Manhattan. I don't know if I could do it without her.

"Don't worry, I'll be in contact 24/7. Well, maybe not 24 hours. I need my sleep after all," she laughed a bit after she said that. She handed me a simple black smartphone. "Password is 197908. I've already downloaded a few apps that will help. Mainly recording ones and a tracking one so I know where you are at all times," she answered before I even asked. I noticed that she had made the lock screen a picture of us in the park. I had a scowl on my face while she was grinning like she'd just heard the best news in the world. Good times…

"Okay, so here's the thing. There's been an incident in Seattle where some people called 'Bio-terrorists' are using powers to kill and kidnap people. There's only 2 but they are extremely dangerous. It's only been a week since then and a force funded by the government called the D.U.P has already enforced marital law. Now, you're probably wondering why I would want you to go there. Simple, I have researched this D.U.P and they just scream 'Blackwatch'. So, I want you to go there and keep an eye on things. Anything goes bad, get back here ASAP. Got it Alex?"

The way she talked was nearly too fast for a regular person to understand but I heard her perfectly. "Got it. So, I'm assuming a plane ticket is in order?" I asked and she immediately handed me a ticket as she pointed towards a black luggage bag and a duffel bag in the corner.

"The luggage bag has a week's worth of clothes and other essentials. The duffel bag has a couple travel books and a blanket. Remember, keep up the appearance that you're human. I don't want the D.U.P on your ass before you even get to Seattle," she said as she gave me a small smirk. I hugged her before I took off, making a silent promise to come back in one piece. I called a cab and waited for it. Once it came I hopped into the cab and told him to go to the airport. Luckily, he didn't bother to talk to me, which would be a great if that also happened on the flight.

I had finally crossed the bridge, maybe not completely of my own will, but I did it.

After the cab stopped and I paid the driver his money, I set out with my bags into Hell, also known as the airport. Thankfully, everything went without a hitch. Once we boarded the plane and it took off, I began to listen to some music while the person sitting next to slept. Dana chose some good music, mainly stuff that wouldn't hurt my hearing. The flight only lasted an hour or so and the plane landed at an airport outside of Seattle. I got my bags and tried to get a cab but most of them said that they aren't taking their chances driving there.

I saw a bus that had some medical supplies on top of it and asked the bus driver where it was going. She said that it was heading to Seattle, the supplies for the people in the bus. I started climbing on before she stopped me. "You know what's happening there, right? You should only get on if you have something really important in Seattle," she said.

"My sister is in the hospital in Seattle," I say back to her. She gave me a sympathetic look and let me on. I took one of the empty seats, putting my luggage beside me. After about 30 minutes, we took off. I looked out the window as we drove by the coast. It was certainly different compared to Manhattan. The pine trees were so green compared to the oaks in Manhattan's parks.

As we approached the city, the best thing to call what happened to the road was chaos. Concrete pillars and walls, bright neon streaks along them, and swords that looked like they were taken straight out of a video game. Little drones hovered around as we hit a road block. The driver got out and went to get help. We waited for about 10 minutes before a guy who looked like a cop came to us with the driver leaning on him.

The guy came onto the bus, laying the driver down on one of the seats. It looked like her leg was broken so she obviously couldn't drive. A couple people started putting a splint on her leg as the guy called someone on his phone, telling them to hurry up then hanging up. Soon enough, a kid with a beanie and vest came up to the bus. He said something to himself as he walked up to the concrete walls and shot a blast of smoke out of his hand. A wall was destroyed as he went on the clear the rest of the way. The people in the bus started freaking out a bit, mumbling something about the guy outside being a Bio-terrorist. When he came back to the bus, he knocked on the door. The people started panicking, saying that if he got on, they'd get off.

The guy who helped the driver pulled out his phone and made a call. The kid outside checked his phone and gave the guy a glare. I guess they knew each other. I focused my hearing on the guy in the bus and his phone, hoping to catch some info on what's up with the kid outside.

"Delsin, we got a problem. Some of the people on the bus, they saw you doing your super-thingy to clear the way." I guess the kid's name is Delsin.

"And?" Delsin replied. From the sound of his voice, he was way younger than me.

"And… they're afraid of you." The sound of the guy's voice had a worried tone to it. Maybe these two were related? Getting a closer look at their faces, they certainly had similar traits.

"What?" Delsin said with what sounded like disbelief.

"Look, I told you, man. Bio-terrorists aren't… especially popular." The guy quieted down near the end but I heard him just fine.

"So, what am I, like Rosa Parks and they want me to sit in the back of the bus!" Delsin's tone certainly sounded a bit angry at the end. I don't blame him but if I were him, I wouldn't even bother hopping on.

"No, they want you to sit… outside of the bus," he guy said with a sigh at the end. "Look, they don't want you in here, alright? They said if you come on, they're gonna get off."

"Then let them walk, I don't care! You think I can't take this door down?" Delsin said and I couldn't help but let a smirk grace my lips. Now this kid is thinking like me! Although, he did scare quite a few folks when he slammed on the door.

The guy pointed towards Delsin with a slight glare. "You are not gonna do that. These people have never seen anything like you before and they're scared," he told him with a harsh tone.

"Alright? And I can't blame them."

A random guy a couple seats behind me loudly said, "He said he's going to break down the door, GO!"

The guy in the driver's seat pointed and yelled back, "Sir! Just give me a second!" That prompted the guy to shut up tighter than a clam. He still watched the kid outside though.

"Look, just let me run them across the bridge, I'll come right back for you, alright? It'll take five minutes," he said. The way Delsin looked at him was certainly depressing and reminded me of what Dana did to me sometimes. Guess these two are related in some way. I'll ask them if I ever see them again, which is more than likely. Delsin moved towards the door a bit before the guy said,

"Come on man, I can't let you on the bus," he said with a slight pause. "Five minutes…" he said before making what seemed to be a gesture towards Delsin. Delsin then put away his phone along with the guy. He started driving and I looked back at him. He kind of stood there for a bit, in what I'm guessing is disbelief. As we continued forward, I looked back towards the guy driving. He was going kind of fast compared to the lady before and then I realized why. There were abandoned cars all along the tunnel to the bridge. He had to go fast to knock them out of the way. As we crossed the bridge, there were guys in yellow and black uniforms standing on concrete pillars sprouting out of the ocean. Then I heard the announcement that sent a slight worry throughout me entire being.

 **Attention: the scheduled decommission of the 520 bridge by order of the D.U.P**

 **will being shortly. All vehicles and individuals are ordered to immediately evacuate**

 **the roadway.**

When we parked we quickly got off, with the first on being the lady with a broken leg, and got off all the supplies up top. We quickly entered what seemed to be a checkpoint. One by one, we got our hand scanned. When it was my turn, I thought I was going to set off something, but luckily nothing did. Guess the scanner is for Bio-terrorists and not viruses.

I quickly made my way to a random alleyway and dumped off the bags, making sure to remove the plane stickers. I tossed them in a nearby trash can and ran up to a building overlooking the bridge. I watched as the bridge get destroyed by the concrete coming out of the water. I saw smoke moving towards the city then the smoke turning back into Delsin. Guess his brother didn't come back for him, but seeing as how he tried to get across the bridge with it being demolished, I couldn't help but snicker at him hanging precariously while Delsin had to help him back up onto solid land.

The two of them tried to get through checkpoint but Delsin set off the alarm, making his brother have to run as to not be caught in the crossfire of Delsin and the D.U.P people. He killed a couple of the D.U.P agents but the rest were restrained under smoke. He started making his way to someplace else with his phone next to his ear. Once he disappeared from my sight I looked back out to the destroyed bridge.

So, I guess I'm stuck here, huh?


	2. Chapter 1

I stay atop the building for a minute or two before I start hearing gunfire again. I look for the source and I see an extremely ugly black and yellow structure making an archway above the street. There were a couple of those D. on top of it, shooting down at a crowd of people. Delsin was in the back but the guys on the arch didn't seem to care. They were just shooting random people.

Guess Dana was right about them having 'Blackwatch' written all over them.

As Delsin blasted the arch down, I moseyed on over to the fight. I stayed on top of the buildings but stayed out of sight. I was leaning on a wall when one of those D.U.P guys landed next to me. He surprised me as much as I surprised him. Before he could radio in his buddies I grabbed him and let my tendrils consume him. Since I was behind a building, no one saw a thing as he became nothing but biomass. I felt the rush of memories once more but this time I was interested. I let them roll as I picked up one very important name;

Brooke Augustine.

She is apparently the head of the D.U.P. Not only that, but she's a Bio-terrorist like Delsin. I guess it takes one to know one, huh? As I changed into one of the D.U.P , I realized that unless I don't have to use their concrete power, I'm gunna be picked out easily. I'm watching all these guys jumping around using concrete and I can jump just as high, more than likely even higher, but I can't control or create concrete.

There was some yelling coming from a radio on my shoulder. I pluck it off the strap as I change back to myself. The sounds started to become mostly struggling noises and panicked yelling. Next thing I hear was an explosion. I check around the corner and notice a couple things. Firstly, there was a giant blue shard imbedded into the wall. Secondly, there was a big machine that certainly wasn't in working order. With all the smoke coming out of it, it must have been the source of the explosion.

Sure enough, Delsin was right beside said machine. He was walking around absorbing the blue shards everywhere. I guess those help him somehow? Once he finished with all the blue shards on the ground he looked up at the buildings. He then started making his way up the few buildings that had the last of those shards. Once he started making his way to the roof I was on I decided to make my exit. I simply stepped off the building and made a small crater where I landed. I quickly ran into an alleyway before he could see me.

Once I was in the clear I decide to call Dana. The second the call started Dana said, "What happened in Seattle? There's already news of another Bio-terrorist. That wouldn't happen to be you, would it?"

I sigh and say, "No, it's not me. The other Bio-terrorist is a guy using what looks like smoke. His name is Delsin and has someone with him. The other guy may be his relative but I don't know."

After a short pause, Dana says, "Okay. Keep an eye on Delsin and see if you can find out the other guy's name."

"Got it. Talk to you later," I say as I hang up. I put my phone back into my pocket and start walking. I started hearing faint footsteps and picked up my pace. I change into a lady with a sweater as I exit the alley into a busy part of the city. I keep walking but I couldn't pick out the footsteps from before with all these people walking around.

Once I was at least a mile away, I changed back into myself and ran up a building. I scouted out the area, noticing a couple D. going into an alleyway. I followed them from above, listening in on the conversation. They were talking about ways to stop the new Bio-terrorist, who more than likely is Delsin. I continued to follow them till the stopped at what looked like a power generator, although I've never seen one that glowed a vibrant blue. There were only two of them so it would be easy to take them out without anyone knowing. I lined myself up and jumped off the building.

Once I fell between the two of them, I smacked the guy on my right into the wall while I consumed the other one after punching my fist through his body. After I consumed the guy, I restrained the other one against the wall he was slumped against. I destroy his radio before he regains consciousness, which wasn't long after.

First thing he said, "WHAT THE HELL?! WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU?!" I promptly covered his mouth and let him scream into it. Probably should have realized that he would crap his pants, considering what happened years ago. Once he seemed like he was out of breath, I uncovered his mouth.

"So, do you know anything about a certain Bio-terrorist named Delsin? If you tell me everything, I'll let you live," I say intimidatingly. The guy nods quickly, saying 'yes' and 'I sure do' over and over.

"Okay then, quit wasting my time and tell me," I say.

"Okay, um, Delsin's full name is Delsin Rowe. We had first contact with him at a cannery with another Bio-terrorist. He said that he was a Bio-terrorist and absorbed the other Bio-terrorist's power like a sponge. We didn't believe him and let him be, after putting concrete in his leg. That's all that I know. I have no clue has to how he recovered from the concrete, or anything else!" he says, trembling in my constraints.

"Thanks for the info, too bad you didn't tell me everything," I say as I consume him, his scream getting cut off as he became a mass of blood and flesh. Once his memories finished playing, I looked at my handy work. A couple small craters on the ground and wall and two large splotches of blood. I hear footsteps coming and quickly go up the wall, leaving a couple craters along it. As I run away from the crime scene, I try to figure out where Delsin would be going next.

* * *

Just… holy shit. What the fuck happened here. I quickly call Reggie's number, wondering who the hell could do this much damage and not leave a body.

"Hey Delsin, what is it?" asked Reggie once he picked up.

"Um, you may want to send your cop buddies where I'm at, cause I think a murder happened here," I reply, sending a couple photos to him.

"Jesus Christ, yeah, I'll send a couple people there. Just drain that core relay and get out of there as fast as you can," he says, ending the call.

I open up the core relay and drain the power from it. The power surges through my body one more time as I gain a new power. Once the surge stops, I feel like I can make my smoke power into something a bit more destructive. I try out this new feeling and launch the equivalent of smoke missiles at the wall.

"Oh, Hell yes. This is gunna fuck up those D.U.P vehicles," I say to myself. Kinda noticed that I've been doing that lately.

"Maybe I should stop? Naw, it's not hurting anyone."

I get out of the alleyway by using a vent which launches me into the air. In the distance, I see a figure jumping from building to building. I wonder which Conduit that one is?

* * *

I relax on the roof of a building as the night sky passes by above me. I tried to track Delsin but once it was late into the night, I knew it was time to stop. Delsin was still human, or at least seemed like it, so he must have gone someplace to sleep. I see neon colored beams in the distance, guessing it's from another Bio-terrorist. I'll check them out after I track down Delsin. Maybe I'll even try to get a few more memories from those D.U.P soldiers.

Wait, right now would be the perfect time. With most people asleep, it's mainly the D.U.P walking around. I stand up and jump off the side, making another crater. Hmm… probably should stop doing that if I don't want to draw suspicion. I start running around, killing small groups of D.U.P soldiers all around Seattle. I came across a few drug dealers but those guys were small fry compared to the soldiers. There was this really elaborate neon thing going on in one place. There were a few people done up on the wall, neon skulls and ribbons all around the place. Whatever this Bio-terrorist is trying to do, they certainly do it with flair. I continue on with killing soldiers till I finally get something, not much, but something.

Apparently, the Space Needle was the main broadcaster for the D.U.P. Is that why it has all that metal crap on it? Well, if I take it out, maybe then I can take out larger groups without having to worry about people knowing that I'm here. Hmm… How should I go about this? The sun was coming up so I couldn't go under the cover of night. I guess I could just try to run up it but I couldn't go underneath the top part. I would have to climb on the metal the rest of the way. I may have to use my claws if the metal is too slick. I start making my way to the Space Needle, finally getting somewhere.

* * *

 **Sorry about taking so long but I do have some great news. I've been accepted into a college. So, while it make take a while in-between chapters, you may see an increase of length and skill. Thanks and please review!**


	3. Chapter 2

Man, nearly getting crushed by an elevator isn't fun. Neither is having to face a guy who has concrete floating around him like a shield. Along with, like, 10 other soldiers. None of that is really fun. What is fun is getting a new power and absolutely destroying all the metal crap on the Space Needle.

Now, what should I mark the flag? The jackass is pretty good, but I like the symbolism of Seattle in the hands. After a quick game of catch a tiger by the toe, I chose the hands. It was hard to do it without any cardboard but I managed to get it right. Now it was flying in the wind, with Reggie telling me I have a ways to go before the D.U.P are pushed out completely. As I jump off the flagpole, I look at the sunrise. I may have hated Reggie when he woke me up so early, but this honestly looks really nice. I take a picture and send it to Betty. She is going to love this.

I turn back to the flag, seeing as how Betty may want a picture of that as well, only to be pinned down by a mass of what the fuck.

"What the hell?!" I yell, turning into smoke and getting out of it. The mass turned into an arm, which was attached to a guy. He seemed to really like the color black, or at least any dark color. And why the fuck was he wearing dress shoes?! Wouldn't those things be really hard to parkour in?

"How the hell did you get up here? And what is hell is your power?" I say those last two questions, mainly because they were the biggest ones.

"So, you're Delsin Rowe? Mind telling me your buddies name?" the guy asked, not caring about what I just said. Is this dude with the D.U.P? He doesn't seem like it, considering he doesn't have concrete powers.

"I'll only say if you tell me if you're with the D. or not," I say back, trying to get something out of this.

"Why would I want to be with those Blackwatch wannabes? Now, tell me your friend's name," he threatened, his arm doing a really disturbing pulse of whatever he pinned me with.

"Okay, it's Jake- "

"Don't lie. I know you are, so I highly suggest not," he says, cutting me off.

Holy shit is this guy good. Now he seems a little-pissed off though so I should try-

"Don't try and escape either, I can run faster than you and hear your heartbeat," he says, managing to somehow read my thoughts. I quickly throw a smoke bomb but that doesn't even make him cough. Instead, his arm, WHICH IS NOW A FUCKING SWORD, is pinning my clothes against the needle. I try and smoke dash out but I can't. Note: don't get stuck by anything or smoke doesn't work.

"Enough games, tell me his name," he says, snarling in my face.

"Fine, it's Reggie! Just don't kill me with whatever powers you have!" I finally say, giving in under the fear of death.

The guy lets me go and starts walking away. I hear him mutter, "You Bio-terrorists are nothing compared to what I am." He then crouches down and jumps up really high before plummeting down to the ground.

I stand completely still, staring at where the guy hopped off. I have no clue what just happened, but first things first. Gotta call Reggie and tell him to not go anywhere for at least a week or two. I dial his number and after a couple rings, he picked up.

"Hey Reggie, I would highly suggest not going outside today, or tomorrow, or for the next few weeks," I said, hearing a loud groan on the other end.

"What did you do now?" he asks.

"I may have given your name to a Conduit that has some type of flesh power," I quickly say, knowing that he'd react badly. Sure enough, I had to hold the phone away from my ear as he yelled.

"Delsin, why would you do that?!"

"Because he was threatening my life! He even knew I was lying when I tried to make up a fake name!" I yelled back. I thought back to the conversation and realized that I got something out of it.

"Okay, before you yell at me again, do you know what a Blackwatch is?" I ask.

"No. Do you know what it is?" he replies.

"When I asked the guy if he was a part of the D.U.P, he said that he wouldn't want to be one of those 'Blackwatch wannabes'," I told him. I walked around the edge as I talked when I noticed a black figure in the distance. It was up really high and seemed to glide in the air. Probably was the guy from earlier.

"Listen, I can see the dude gliding around. He's on the search for you, so if you're inside somewhere, stay there. If you're outside, choose the closest place and go in," I say, quickly ending the call before he could protest. I go to the observation deck and look at all the metal on the ground. All the metal that I used to climb up here.

"Now, how the hell do I get down from here?"

* * *

I glided around, letting myself be a little more lenient with my powers. Once I was far enough from the Space Needle, I stopped on a roof and dialed Dana. After a few rings, she picked up.

"So, did you get some info on Delsin?" she asked, getting right to the point.

"Yes, and I have info on the other guy too. Delsin's full name is Delsin Rowe. Apparently, the D.U.P had a run-in with him before he went to Seattle. And the guy he's with is named Reggie. Whether or not that's a nickname, I don't know. You have enough info to find out more about him?" I ask, looking at the people down below.

"A full name is perfect. I'll find him and that other guy easily. So, while I'm finding info about him, wanna chat? More specifically, what is it like in Seattle?" Dana asked, typing on her keyboard in the background. I sit on the ledge, letting my legs dangle off the roof.

"It's greener than Manhattan, that's for sure," I say, chuckling.

"Huh, maybe I'll come see it after everything is over. Just a little ol' vacation for the both of us," she said.

"Oh, I climbed the Space Needle this morning. The view was amazing. Too bad I didn't take a picture for you," I said.

"Wait, isn't the Space Needle off-limits to the public right now?" she asked.

"Who said I went up the normal way?" I said with a smirk on his face.

"Of course, I should have guessed that," she replied, laughing a bit. "So, apparently Delsin has a bit of a record with the police. It's only vandalism but there is a ton of reports. And his brother named Reggie is a part of the police force, so he constantly has to turn his brother in," she told me.

"Must be awkward turning in your own brother. So, is there anything else?" I asked.

"Yeah. The most recent record of him is a medical report. Apparently, he had concrete in his leg and somehow, he managed to recover. There's a ton of other medical records with the same concrete thing going on in the same area. No one else is recovering though and there have even been some deaths. Looks like Delsin may have a grudge with the D.U.P. Not to mention it sounds like someone else I know," she said, trailing off at the end.

"So, what do I do? Try and get more info from him or what?" I asked.

"Sure, get more info. Why not try to get on his good side as well?" she said with more typing in the background.

"Why should I get on his 'good side'?" I say, sighing afterward.

"Well, these D.U.P guys are more powerful than Blackwatch. Sure, they don't have tanks, but they have powers that can hurt you more than bullets. So maybe someone who can beat their powers would be useful to you," she replies.

"Okay, fine. I'll try to get on Delsin's good side. Call you later Dana," I tell her before I end the call. I jump off the building and crush a D.U.P guy who was standing underneath me. My tendrils quickly absorb him as I try to get info from his memories. Nothing I that I don't already know, sadly. I walk off, leaving lots of blood on the building and concrete.

As I walk around, trying to find the kid, I see someone who stands out. It was a girl but her hair was bright. Well, at least it was at one point. The pink color seems to have faded into pale magenta. Besides the hair color, she was eyeing down a group of people around a blue cooler. The group picked up the cooler and started to take into an alleyway. Once they disappeared, the girl followed after them, her glare never letting up.

I followed after her, wanting to see what would happen. Sometimes, it's fun to watch the mayhem unfold. As she rounded the corner, a bright light erupted from the area. I stuck to the shadows where the light couldn't reach. Once the light ended, I peeked around the corner. The group was dead, with their bodies hanging on the walls and ground. They were decorated in some type of neon graffiti.

I whistle as I look at the bodies. I was never this creative when it came to the people I killed. Probably because I consumed most of them. Although it was quite fun killing people without having to use my powers at all. Who knew that Blackwatch would be paranoid enough to trust some random soldier saying that someone else was him? God, those patsies were the best. I chuckle as I remember those memories.

So, now I know what the neon Bio-terrorist looks like. Good to know if Dana ever asks about her. I groan as I realize that I have to get back to finding Delsin. This will be hard, especially since I scared the kid. I think about what I should do when I remembered something. There were secret agents the D.U.P sent around the city to gather more info about Delsin. I smirk as I run off to a different district, my plan forming bit by bit.

* * *

 **So, 2 months into college and I LOVE IT. While these chapters may take a while to make, I still love writing them. Anywho, criticism is encouraged!**


	4. Chapter 3

I can't believe how easy it was to kill the secret agent. It was as easy as sneaking up behind the guy and consuming him. No one noticed and now I was patrolling the area the guy was supposed to do. Now I guess it was a waiting game. This waiting game certainly tested my patience considering it was nearly night when I finally spotted Delsin. He was on top of a short building, looking over the area, obviously trying to find something, or more likely someone. I feel a smirk on my lips as the game begins.

Delsin makes his way down from the building, trying to look as casual as possible. He starts making his way towards me and I start walking away. Once he realized that I was the secret agent he was looking for, he shot what looked like a smoke missile at me. I started running from him, barely putting in any effort yet still gaining a good distance. Delsin tried to keep up, but at some point he must have lost me because I could see him on top of a building, trying to find me.

I made my way to what looked like a park with a pond in the middle. I stood by the water, easily in the view of Delsin. After a few minutes, I heard him trying to sneak up on me. He tossed one of his smoke grenades at me, trying to incapacitate me. I'll give him credit, if I was a D.U.P, I would be screwed. Too bad I'm not. Once it exploded, I used the small smokescreen to grab him and jump onto a building. I made sure to cover his mouth as I guess he would scream. I was right as I felt the vibrations on my hand.

Once we landed on the building, I pinned him on the roof. He looked like a mixture of pissed and terrified. He tried getting away multiple times, as I felt his body shift into smoke. Once I took my hand off his mouth he started ranting.

"Oh great! There's more than one of you! For fuck's sake, now I have to not only take down the DUPs but also fucking watch my back for fucker's like you! Not to mention- "

"Delsin, will you just shut up?" I ask him in my normal voice. He just froze for about half a minute before looking confused.

"Okay, do all you flesh power Conduits have the same voice?" he asked, seemingly forgetting the situation he was in.

"No. What the hell is a Conduit?" I ask.

"What is a-? YOU'RE A CONDUIT!" he yells at me, confusion lacing his voice. I growl at him, shifting back into what I normally look like.

"I am not a conduit. I am something much, much worse," I say in a low tone. Delsin looked a little bit terrified and then was once again, pissed.

"What do you want with my brother?!" he yelled, struggling my grasp.

"Nothing much, really. Just needed his name to find a little more about you," I say. He stops struggling as he looks at me, looking confused before a small smirk appears.

"I thought my first stalker would be a fangirl, not some random guy," he says.

"I'm not a stalker. I just needed to know who you are," I tell him.

"Yeah, totally not a stalker. Now, why did you pin me down this time?" he asks, relaxed in my hold.

"I need to know more about those D.U.P soldiers. I can only get small pieces of info about them but not enough to learn anything. So, I hate asking this, but can you help me?" I ask through clenched teeth.

"If you release me and help me take down the D.U.P, I'll help you," he replies. I retract my tendrils and he stands back up. He doesn't try to escape or anything, probably knowing that I can chase him down. We stand in silence for a bit before he speaks up.

"So, did you already take down that secret agent dude from before?" he asks. I nod and he laughs.

"Well, that makes my job easier. By the way, why did you come after me instead of a D.U.P soldier?" he asks.

"Each soldier I... interrogate… only gives me a bit of a larger picture. I figured that with your past with the D.U.P, you'd help me learn more about them and possibly take them down," I tell him.

"Well, you came to the right person. I'm gunning for the head of the D.U.P, Brooke Augustine. I need her power to help out a lot of people," he tells me. He holds out his hand for what looked like a handshake. "So, mind letting me use your power?" he asked.

"Firstly, you wouldn't want my power. Secondly, I'm not a Conduit," I say to him, crossing my arm. Why won't this guy understand that I'm not one of them?

"Come on dude, I need to get stronger to defeat her. Your power is so freaking powerful! I could stop her easily! So yeah, I want your power." he says, ignoring the second part of my answer.

I was about to talk when I hear a phone ringing. Delsin pulls out his phone, steps a few feet away answers it. "Hey Reggie, what's up?" he asks.

"Okay, while I was trying to find out more about that guy who attacked you on the Space Needle, multiple reports were filed with more people killed by a Bio-terrorist maniac-" Reggie says before he is cut off by Delsin. It was easy to hear the conversation with my enhanced hearing.

"Could you please not use the 'B-word'?" Delsin asks.

"What? 'Bio-terr'-" Reggie tries to say before he is interrupted again.

"Yeah, you know that's just a slur invented by the D.U.P to make people scared of Conduits, man," Delsin tells him.

"Look, whatever you want to call him, let's just track him down, and find out what he can tell us about Augustine," says Reggie.

"And drain his powers," adds Delsin.

"Okay, fine… 'and drain his powers'," Reggie adds on. There was a short pause before Reggie spoke again.

"Alright, they just found a body at 5th and Briar. Go check it out. But promise me you'll be inconspicuous… yeah," he says.

"Got it. I'll update you when I get there," Delsin says, hanging up. He walks back over to me, not realizing I heard everything.

"Okay, I might not need your power depending on how powerful this Conduit is. My brother thinks that he may know something about Augustine, so you'll be getting that information you wanted. We have to be sneaky though," he says, looking up something on his phone.

"I can be stealthy," I say, changing my look to a civilian. Delsin put his phone away and look slightly surprised and in awe.

"That is really cool. You know that right?" he says. He then turns to his left and points.

"The body is that way. Are you able to keep up?" he says, smirking.

"Do you seem to forget what I told you on the Space Needle?" I say back, his smirk turning into a nervous smile.

"Nooo…" he says, jumping off the building.

I chuckle as I easily follow behind him. Maybe it wouldn't be so hard teaming up after all.

* * *

 **Okay, sorry for taking so long but I have had a crazy couple of months. I hopefully will get a chapter out by February but who knows.**

 **Feedback is welcome!**


	5. Chapter 4

I used the vents to launch me up into the sky, trying to get this Conduit-who-says-he-isn't-a-Conduit to eat his words. Yet he was able to keep up, never falling behind. He was able to jump as high as the vents launched me. Hell, he may have gone even higher than that because I was focused on getting to the destination.

When we were getting close to the place, Reggie decided to call me up again. I picked up the phone and held up a hand to the Not-a-Conduit guy, signaling him to stop. I probably should ask his name but first comes the Reggie call.

"Hey, Reggie. What's up?"

"Nothing. Just, listen Delsin, it's going to be police officers at this crime scene, okay? Not D.U.P.'s. Now, I'm here to support you but killing cops…"

"I got it, I got it. I'll put my phasors on 'stun'," I say ending the call and groaning. I look around for the guy, yet I don't spot him.

"Boo."

I jump up about two feet into the air, turning around to face him. He had a fucking smirk on his face.

"I hate you so much right now," I say. He shrugs, not caring about what I said.

"So, what did your brother want from you?" he asks.

"Nothing. Just telling me to leave his cop buddies alone," I reply. "The area where the murders happened is in the area over there." I point over to an alleyway, neon stripes going along the walls.

"How about we avoid the cops by using the rooftops?"

"Good idea, dude," I say, jumping and dashing across the rooves of apartment buildings. The guy is right behind me as we jump over alleyways, following the neon streaks. As the streaks started to come together into a part of the alleyway, we dropped down into the alley itself. The streaks came together into a gruesome piece of art. A body was being hung upside down with neon pink needles crossed behind it. A skull of the same color was above the both of those things, making an odd skull and crossbones sort of deal. Well… skull and crossed needles. I quick dial Reggie while the guy lets out a long whistle.

"Hey Reggie, found the victim. Definitely the work of a Conduit. It's very… showy."

"Okay, I need you to take a couple pictures of the crime scene and send them to me. Anything that might give us a lead."

I pull up the camera, taking a picture of the wounds first.

"I wonder what kind of power did this? Fire blast, or maybe lasers? Ooh, what about flesh-eating death gaze?" I say. "Ha, I wouldn't mind absorbing a little flesh-eating death gaze, right?" The guy looks at me with a raised eyebrow, making that 'Are you crazy?' look.

"Uh, Delsin, even if the guy who did this is a Prime Conduit, we still don't know if this power transfer thing's even going to work."

"Well, you know what… if it does, my first victim? It's gonna be the guy who came up with the name 'Banner Man'."

"Bro, you really need to let that go."

I stopped talking and took a picture of the guy's face.

"Okay, sending you the picture, but I think he blinked," I say. The guy seems distracted, turning his head to something I can't see. Then comes the sirens.

"Uh… Reg, I'm hearing sirens, man."

"Yeah, lemme check real quick," Reggie says. As the sirens got louder, the guy jumped into the rooftop. I took a vent from the alley and popped up next to him. He didn't seem to care though and was eyeing down something on the streets. I followed his gaze and saw the yellow and black armored trucks I've grown to hate.

"Yeah, the D.U.P.'s just cordoned off the area. I've warned the Seattle P.D. to stay away," Reggie says. The D.U.P.'s trucks drive on by, not stopping at this area. They must be going to a different crime scene.

"Has to be the Conduit. I'll check it out," I say, following behind the trucks. "Reg, I got a convoy of DUPs heading to the scene."

"Yeah, uh, might want to stay clear of them?" Reggie says, cutting off the call. I climb buildings and dash through vents, keeping a safe distance from the trucks. As I was about to jump off another building, those weird tendrils wrapped around me and pulled me back.

"What the hell, dude?!" I yell, struggling in his hold. He sighs and points at something, I look over and see a helicopter with missiles or something on the sides.

"Oh. I, uh, didn't see that," I say as he released me.

"Stay close to the ground so that helicopter can't spot us," he says, climbing down onto the buildings. I follow behind as we continue to follow the convoy. As the convoy slows down, my phone vibrates. I answer it with Reggie on the other end, again.

"Alright, chances are there's going to be a lot of D.U.P. there. D.U.P. with 'shoot to kill' orders," he says. Nice pep talk, Reg.

"Wow, well, hate to interrupt this little pep talk, but you got any luck with that first victim on your face database thing?" I asked, peaking around a corner to see where the D.U.P.s were going. They were going into an alleyway with neon along the walls.

"No, nothing. The victim must not have had a record."

"Huh, from the looks of the guy, I at least would have excepted a drug bust or two. Anyways, gotta check out the scene. Talk to you later, Reg," I say, hanging up my phone. I look above, trying to find the helicopter from before. With it being nowhere in sight, I could easily take all these D.U.P.s out.

"Hey, dude- "

"Alex."

"What?" I say, looking at him behind me.

"My name is Alex. I would also like it if you never called me 'dude' ever again," the g- Alex says.

"Alright Al, let's- "

"Don't call me that either."

"Let's get to clearing out these D.U.P.s!" I say, launching a smoke bomb at them.

I jumped into the fray, hitting the D.U.P.s with everything I got. Blats, rockets, bombs, I even hit a couple with my chain. Alex must have been doing something because I heard a few explosions, more than likely from the convoy.

"Get the Bio-terrorist!" yelled a D.U.P.

"No, it's 'Get the Conduit!' Jeez… and good luck with that," I say, smacking him with my chain.

Alex was jumping around and taking bullets with ease. I seriously don't know why he won't let me use his powers, they're awesome!

Once the D.U.P.s were taken out, we walked onto the scene.

A guy was speared onto a fountain, upside down. Light neon purple streaks swirled around him. A neon pink swirl goes around the fountain and to the entrance of the alleyway. Words in blue are on the wall, 'A Promis- 'before it cuts off, obviously cut off in a hurry.

"Well, this Conduit's sure got a certain style. Kind of nouveau… sick," I say, looking around at the scene. I pull out my phone and text Reggie. Within seconds, my phone is ringing. I push the answer button and pull up the camera.

"Okay, I just need- "

"Let me guess, 'face and wounds'."

"If it's not too much trouble," he says, going quiet on the line.

I take a pic of the guy's face, quickly sending it to Reggie.

"Alright, there you go. Stand by for wounds," I say. I was just about to take a pic when Reggie stopped me.

"No need, I got a hit on the face. Guy's a drug dealer, rap sheet's a mile long. Look around for his stash, might give us a clue why the sniper chose him," he says.

Alex and I immediately start looking around the alleyway. He looks in corners while I did a general scope of the place. We make a good team, I think. I wonder if he could help me with my spray painting.

I noticed a couple of coolers and a bag and decided to check them out. I bend down and look inside when a GIANT PINK LASER IS SHOT AT ME.

"Holy!" I say as I was knocked on my butt. The bag was vaporized by that laser as I looked to where it was shot from. A bright pink light was coming from a neon sign.

"'Holy' what? What 'holy'? Delsin, are you okay?" Reggie asked worriedly.

"Yeah, found our sniper. Going after him," I say, heading through a vent to the roof.

"Be careful!" Reggie says, muting the line. The sniper shoots another laser at me, nearly knocking me out of the sky. As I approached the sign, the sniper started running.

By running, I mean becoming so fast the only thing I can follow is the trail. I can't even see the person that's running since they became what was essentially FUCKING LIGHT. Not even into a minute chasing him and the Conduit is already gone.

"Stop! Come ba… ah, great. Nice meeting you," I say looking at the huge trail he left behind.

"Did you get him?" Reggie asks, unmuting the line.

"No, he… ran. Fast. Like… really, really fast. 'Conduit' fast, man. Screw flesh-eating death gaze, I want that."

"Well, don't be greedy."

As I turn the corner, Alex lands next to me.

"Don't run off… What the hell happened?" he asks, looking at what the Conduit did. Cars are crushed, random things destroyed, even a few trees broken in half.

"That was the sniper," I say as we walk through the destruction. Alex whistles as we walk by a crushed car with a trail on it.

"A little flashy for my tastes but still some good mayhem," he says.

"What, have you done something like this before?" I ask jokingly.

"Yes. In fact, I could easily crush a car if I jumped onto it," he says, serious as hell.

"Jeez, dude- "

"What did I say about calling me 'dude'?"

"You seriously need to give me your power," I say, him sighing in return.

"No. Let's just find this sniper, alright?"

As we walked about, I remembered what happened at the sign.

"Wait. At the sign, where the sniper dude shot me, just before every shot, I could see the neon sign behind him dim a little."

"Hmm… that may be what he uses to recharge. Let's head to that sign and see if anything else is there. Make sure to tell your brother."

As we make our way to the sign, I call Reggie up.

"You should see what this guy can do, man. Like lasers or something. I'm telling you, it would be great to have a one-two punch like that and smoke when I get to Augustine."

"Take it easy. We've got to find him again first."

Once Alex and I reach the sign, we both seem to understand one thing.

"Well, one thing this place tells us is that our sniper is a sniper-ette," I say, Alex nodding in agreement.

"Wait, what?"

"You should see this, Reg. It's, like, the girliest sniper's nest you've ever seen."

"What? What does that even mean?"

"I don't know, it's just… 'girled up.' Girl stuff, like the name 'Brent' burned into the wall in girly handwriting, and it is definitely the best-smelling assassin's den you could ever be in."

"Okay, look… just send me photos of anything you think might help."

Alex goes and sits at the edge of the sign, saying something about how it's too smelly.

I look around at just how much stuff I can send to Reg and a grin spreads across my face.

* * *

 **Okay, way overdue. I'm sorry but college comes first. I also have started volunteering as an editor to get myself some time for my resume. I will keep doing chapters and I will try to make them longer.**

 **Feedback is always welcome!**


	6. Chapter 5

Why did this Conduit have to use so much perfume? Dana doesn't even use this much! I hear the clicking from Delsin's phone as he takes pictures of the sniper nest, with some talking between Delsin and his brother. I should probably call Dana later. She'll want something to leak to the web, after all.

I look down at an odd drawing the sniper had etched into the ground below. It looked a little bit like a face, but it was cut off suddenly. I look at the glowing lines next to me and I realize that it was the rest of the drawing.

I stand up, moving my head as I try to complete the picture. Out of the corner of my vision, Delsin walks over.

"Huh… I guess this counts as 'interesting'," he said, snapping a pic. He then starts to ramble to Reggie, talking about what he's going to do against Augustine. Speaking of her, where was she? Any D.U.P.s I consumed only saw her in videos or rarely over the radio. She's obviously here in Seattle, but where? Maybe she's in one of those gigantic concrete structures that lay between the islands. She wouldn't be foolish enough to be in the closest one, would she?

"Hey Alex, we got a lead. Our sniper-ette seems to have a thing against drug dealers."

I nod and run beside him, seeing as how he's the one with the information. It's annoying to have to be so slow just to not overshoot wherever we're going. Hopefully, it doesn't take too long.

"You know what's weird, Alex? If she's just killing drug dealers, then why do the new reports make it sound like she's picking off random victims like it could be anybody?" Delsin asks. Oh, how naïve he was.

"Easy. To cause panic amongst the civilians," I replied. It's basic fear tactics, after all. Had them applied to me… though a lot of them were true. It's not my fault that the government wanted to glass the city.

"What?! That makes no sense! Wouldn't the D.U.P. want people to know the killing wasn't random? That if you're not a drug dealer, you're not in danger." Yeah, he's completely naïve. Looks like he'll need to wise up to what these Blackwatch wannabes truly are.

"Not if they were trying to make someone look worse than they actually are," I say. He was quiet till we ran across something a little suspicious. Some guys were hovering around a blue cooler. Oh, it's more of those people.

"The lead goes here but looks like a drug deal is going down. You don't mind if I deal with these guys first, right? Reg would get on my ass if I didn't do my 'citizen's duty' to step up to a crime in progress," he says, pointing his thumb at them.

"I could care less," I reply. He gives a thumb's up and dives into the group, launching smoke grenades and pining the group to the ground.

So, these guys are drug dealers? Guess the girl I saw was the sniper we're trying to find. Are there any other light-shooters in the mix? Is there a group against the drug dealers here? I have to find more about these Conduits. Just another thing to call Dana about.

Delsin walks over to a locked gate, dusting off his hands. He sighs and shoots at the lock, only making it jingle in response.

"Crap. The place where the guy was killed is supposed to be in there," he says. I walk over and take the lock in hand, crushing it with ease in my hand.

"Alex, we really need to talk about you giving me some of those powers."

"And I need to keep reminding you that I'm not a Conduit."

"You keep telling yourself that," Delsin says under his breath. He probably thinks that I couldn't hear that. I need to sit him down at some point and just tell him, but I'll save that for after the D.U.P. is destroyed. If he doesn't respond… well to how I function, then he doesn't need to ever see me again.

We enter what used to be an abandoned alley. 'Used to' because the girl seems to have taken residence here as well as the billboard. The name 'Brent' was written in cursive in a spiral pattern around a shrine. Pink birds were drawn around the place as well. Hell, there was even a neon guy on the wall near a table and couple of chairs. Probably this 'Brent' guy since the face looked similar to the one at the billboard.

"Huh, so Speedy-Gone-Crazy is a tagger? Pretty damn good one," Delsin says, looking around the room like myself. He pulls up his phone and starts to take pictures. Pretty weird that a guy she killed is given a shrine while everyone else gets made into a piece of art. It's starting to seem less like another one of her kills and something a little more personal. Delsin tapped on my shoulder, getting my attention.

"C'mon, we're heading to Olaf's to meet with the sniper-ette," he says, dashing off in a cloud of smoke. I look at the table one more time with the neon guy. It's like when Dana drags me along to go shopping with her.

Wait… Is this Brent guy her brother? That would explain the shrine and everything but why would she kill him? I mean, I wouldn't fight back if Dana tried to hurt me, but I would never hurt her. Was she forced to by the D.U.P.s?

"Alex! C'mon man! Quit standing around and let's go!" Delsin says, his voice echoing in the alley. I tear my gaze away from the sight and walk out of the alley, Delsin tapping his foot in front of the entrance.

"Look dude. If you like art so much, after we're done with this, I'll show my tagging skills. They may not be neon but they're still pretty sweet," he says.

"I wasn't admiring the art. I was thinking about something," I say. "This Brent guy seems really important for a guy she killed. Seems like she was really close to him, like family."

Delsin staggers back a bit. Did he not come to that conclusion? He has a brother, he should have noticed that. Then again, he didn't think that the D.U.P. would use fear tactics, so this seems par for the course.

"Well, I have a way of seeing if that's true," he says. "C'mon, we're wasting daylight." He dashes into a vent, launching him up into the sky. I follow behind with the sun beginning to set on this day.

* * *

We hit the ground about a block away from Olaf's. I told Alex it was because she may be walking around, but really, I'm just hungry. So, while he's looking around, I head inside and get myself some fish n' chips. When I walk back out, there's a protest going on. It seems to be mostly parents and I hear the word "drugs" from time to time. A guy walks up to me, tucking his sign under his arm and holding out a clipboard.

"Hey mister, sign our petition to get drugs off the streets! Unless we stop this poison, more of our youth will turn out like Fetch Walker," says the man. Huh, I wonder…

"Fetch Walker?"

"Her body was corrupted by drugs. And the drugs turned her into a Bio-terrorist," a woman cut-in. Oh, so this Fetch is probably the girl we're looking for... and she's done drugs. This is starting to come together.

"We need your help to keep our streets clean of that kind of filth," she adds.

"Filth, huh?" God, I hate these types of people.

"Hey, you're either fighting with us or against us," the man says. I open my mouth to say something when Alex grabs my shoulder and drags me away.

"Don't bother with people like that. They'd just waste your time," Alex says. I give the protesters the middle finger behind my back and I hear a sigh from beside me. What does Alex expect? They hate Conduits and we're Conduits! Well, I am. Alex is still in denial. I offer Alex a fry and he shakes his head. I shrug and continue to munch on my food.

"By the way, the girl's name is Fetch," I say. I pop another fry into my mouth as Alex turns his head towards me.

"How do you know that?" he asks.

"Those protesters are talking about a girl named Fetch Walker who took drugs and became a Bio-terrorist."

"So, how big is the chance that Brent and Fetch are family?"

"At this point, 99.99%," I say, tossing my trash away. "Let's wait by the neon sign. If she uses neon as her power source, then she'll probably chill up there as she recharges."

Alex nods and we make our way to the rooftop. I parkour up the side so that people don't think anything of it, while Alex decides to jump onto the roof. As I pull myself over the edge, I notice a small shack made on the roof by someone. It doesn't have that "Fetch" feel so it must have been made by someone else. Alex checks out the little shack, sunset making him blend in with the shadows. When it comes nighttime, he'll practically be invisible.

"Are you gunna stay there, you ninja?" I say, making him turn towards me.

"Yeah. I'm good with stealth. Where are you going to hide?"

"I'm going to do my surveillance hobo style," I say, jabbing my thumb towards a pile of cardboard boxes. Alex gives me an unamused look before he facepalms. I chuckle. I've never seen him look so… done with me. Alex sits in a plastic chair, looking like a mix between a villain and stalker as he keeps an eye out for Fetch. I slink in-between the boxes, keeping an eye out for Fetch.

…God, what's taking so long? The sun had set what feels like hours ago. Alex is still creepy as ever and I'm starting to feel sleepy. I quietly yawn, covering my mouth with a hand. If she doesn't show up in the next hour, I'm gunna just let Alex keep watch.

Wait, what was that? There's a neon streak above the building across the street. Looks like Fetch is coming to recharge. Sure enough, the neon streak jumps across the road and lands on the roof. It forms into a person, kinda like when I go from smoke cloud back to myself. I finally have a face to put to the name. Huh, her hair matches her neon's color. I wonder if she colors her hair with it? Okay, nevermind that, she's mumbling something.

"Oh man, that smells good. Ugh, why didn't I take some cash off those dealers?" she says. "Money, why do you hate me? Be my friend, money. Come to me. Let's bond."

I slowly come out from the boxes as she turns her back. I can see Alex making his way as well, probably going to be my backup. As I make my way towards her, she turns toward me. Fuck! Gotta do this now! I grab her arm before she could run away, locking her in place as I… is copy the right word? Yeah, copy her powers. Neon surrounds us as flashes of her memories go by in my head.

What the Hell? The light show was crazy and all but how do I deal with them passing out all of a sudden? I walk over to Delsin, who had what looks to be purple neon running across him. What the fuck did Fetch do to him?

A minute or two goes by and they start to get up. I stand back, not wanting to be in the middle of whatever was going to happen next. Fetch dashes behind me, keeping an eye on the both of us. Delsin dashes after her but instead of smoke, he left his own neon trail. So, he takes other's powers and uses them as his own? I thought he was just kidding around when he said that he wanted to use mine.

Seems like he doesn't know how to use his new power though, as he's having trouble with his dashes. Delsin chases Fetch on the roof for a bit before the two of them are off, running across the city. With the trails though, I can take my time following them. I pull out my phone as I follow the trail through the empty streets. A couple of rings and I hear Dana's tired voice on the other end.

"Do you know what time it is, Alex?" she asks. I peek at the time as I jump up onto a building.

"About ten-thirty. Information doesn't need a time, though."

"Fair enough. So, what kinda info did you get?"

"A girl named Fetch Walker is one of the Conduits that got away. Mind looking into her family tree for someone named Brent Walker?" I ask, following the trail up a couple buildings.

"Sure, but what's a Conduit?"

"Bio-terrorist is something the D.U.P. made up. They actually call themselves Conduits. Also, the D.U.P. is using fear tactics to make Fetch out to be worse than she is."

"Wow, they're starting to sound like a copy paste of Blackwatch at this point."

"Yeah. All she's killing is drug dealers but the D.U.P. aren't giving the full picture, making her killings seem random."

"Oh, this is good. I'll make an anonymous article in a couple days so hopefully, that'll help you. How's the task of getting on Delsin's good side?" she asks as I walk along a tram line.

"I'm helping him catch Fetch right now. Well, more like trailing after him. I had to update you on this stuff, after all."

"Wait, why are you trying to catch Fetch?"

"Apparently, Delsin can absorb people's powers and use them like his own, so he went for Fetch's powers. He's also been talking about Augustine's powers, so I guess he's gunning for hers."

"Who's Augustine? Wait, let me guess, the other Conduit?"

"No, she runs the D.U.P. and is a Conduit herself."

"So, it's like fighting fire with fire? Oh, this too good. I'm going to write this right away. Gotta go, you get back to helping Delsin."

"Okay, see ya, Dana," I say, hanging up the phone. I look up at a building of neon, the trails slowly fading from the front. I easily climb the side and notice the glass ceiling had a rather large hole in it. Inside, the main light source was neon signs scattered around. Delsin was talking about something dealing with responsibility and Fetch was being held by another guy. I take a step forward and the metal from the skylight groans. It breaks and I plummet into the stage below, creating a small crater from where I land. I hear laughing as I pull myself out of the crater I made.

"Alex, what the Hell was that?" Delsin says, laughing as the other two stare in confusion. I dust myself off as I walk towards them. I notice that the other guy is the same one from the bus. Oh, so this is Reggie? He facepalms and tugs on Delsin's shoulder.

"When were you going to tell me about this Bio-terrorist?" Reggie says.

"Technically… I already have. And its Conduit, Reg," Delsin says.

"Wait… Is this the guy who threatened your life?" Reggie yells. Fetch makes her way over to me, looking me up and down. Delsin and Reggie being to argue as Fetch and I watch on.

"So, are they always like this?" she asks.

"Don't know, just met Delsin the other day."

"So, what power do you have?"

"It's not a power, it's what I am."

"Sure, sure, mister edgy. I mean, what can you do?" she asks. Okay, what is with the nicknames? I'm not edgy, whatever that is.

"Do you want a complete list or simplified?"

"Can't you just say it in one word?"

"Shapeshifting is the closest I can come to for one-word powers."

"That's pretty fucking cool," she says. Delsin and Reggie come back, with Delsin looking a little sheepish.

"Okay, listen, you two Bio-terrorists. If either of you steps out of line, I'm taking you in," Reggie says, stamping off. Delsin sighs, walking up and patting Fetch's back.

"Sorry, he's cool. He's… normally cool. He's just… not today," Delsin says.

"Yeah. So… let's talk," Fetch says.

What the hell happened here? Hopefully, this doesn't include me.

"You too, Alex."

Goddamit.

* * *

 **Hi! Been a while, hasn't it? Sorry, I'll try to have the next chapter out by the end of next month but college takes priority. Feedback is always welcome!**


	7. Chapter 6

"So… where to start…" I say. Fetch looks bored while Alex is being his straight-faced self.

"How about how on Earth I'll be your _responsibility_?" Fetch says, arms crossed.

"Well, I meant that I would keep an eye on you and keep you from killing a bunch of people…"

"But you know that I won't up and quit that shit, right?" she says,

"Yeah, I was kinda talking out my ass so that he wouldn't arrest you."

"Fair enough. Can I keep doing my neon art?" She says, drawing a circle with her finger.

"Yeah, just don't revolve it around, ya know, killing people."

"Can't promise that. Old habits are hard to break, after all."

"Okay, well, how about I help you with leaving people alive when you do your laser show?"

"Only if you help me take out some drug dealers while we're at it."

"Deal. Now, Alex- "I say, turning to him. He holds up a hand, cutting me off.

"Let me guess, don't threaten you or anyone else?" He says in a flat tone.

"Yeah, and you have to apologize to him," I say. Alex groans, mumbling something under his breath.

"Well, why did he walk away then if he wanted an apology?" he asks, gesturing to the doors.

"He needed time to cool off," I say. "Since I took your guys' side rather than his, he may be feeling a little- "

"Betrayed?" Alex cuts me off.

"I was going to say salty, but that works too. So, a quick overview. No killing and I'll help you with drug dealers," I say, putting my hands together and pointing at Fetch, who gives a nod. "And no more threats along with an apology." I turn my hands to Alex, who also nods.

"Okay, can I go now? I still hungry from earlier," Fetch says, tapping her foot.

"Uh, sure. Could you come back after, though?" I say, letting some purple neon come from my hand. "I don't want Reggie to suddenly show up and you're not there."

"Sure, sure. Got any money, though?" she asks. I hand her a couple tens and some loose change before she runs out of the building and somewhere else.

Alex and I walk out of the building. The air felt heavy and even in the darkness of the night, I could see clouds rolling in. I sit under the awning, making sure that I wouldn't get wet if rain started to pour. I take out my phone and sigh. I wonder just what Reggie lecture I'll get this time.

"Alright Reg, sorry I uh…" I manage to get in before I'm cut off.

"Oh, look who it is. What, is the meeting of the Conduit Club finally over?" Reggie says.

"I just wanted to talk her, okay? To see if maybe she could help us out?" I say. I hear a light ping on the awning above. Looks like the rain is here. "And I trust Alex, alright? We had a rocky start but like I said, he wants to fight the D. just as much as I do!"

As silence persists on the other end, the rain starts to pick up in speed and intensity. Quick, heavy footsteps end up behind me and I turn to see Alex leaning his back against the door. Like he wasn't just sprinting into the safety of the awning. I sigh and get back to what I guess Reggie is doing.

"You're not doing the 'pouting Reggie' thing, are you? You know I hate that!" I say.

"Look, you know people like that shouldn't be free to roam the streets!" he yells.

"Uh, are you forgetting who else is a 'person like that'?" I remark.

"It's not the same. You're different," he says, his tone softening.

"Yes, I know, I'm your brother. And your brother is asking for your help in trying to stay alive," I say. "And if you won't do it for me, then do it for the tribe."

A moment of silence is on the other end before it is cut by a sigh. "Fine, what do you need?"

"Thank you. I need to see what else this new power can do. You're my 'go-to- guy when it comes to finding the Core Relays."

A buzz from my phone and a banner pops up for a second with directions to another core relay. Not too far, thankfully.

"There, sent it," Reg says. "For the tribe and you."

"Thank you! I'll let you know what I get," I reply.

"No. I don't want to know what you 'get'."

"Bye, _pouting Reggie_ ," I say, ending the call. I shift my focus to the guy who looks to be cool but was not-so-subtly running a minute ago.

"Alex, what was that?"

"What was what?" he asks.

"Dude, I could hear you running behind me. It's not like there are any D. around, so what gives?" I reply.

"… I don't like water," he says in a low tone. Okay, was that a threat? Probably… then again, just about everything he says is a threat.

"Okay, and? Do you need to run like your life depends on it?" Wait a second. "Are you afraid of water?!"

I couldn't help but burst out laughing. This guy who looks like he could kill you with a glance is afraid of water! My lungs hurt! I haven't laughed this hard in years!

I was suddenly yanked back by my collar, causing my laughs to be caught in my throat. I am now currently staring into the eyes of a pissed off Alex and let me say, he is fucking scary when he's like this. Like, even a fucking T-Rex would run away whimpering, tail between its legs.

I was currently thinking of doing the exact same thing.

"Listen, Delsin," he started slowly. "I am _not_ afraid of water. I'm not afraid of anything. I just do not mix well with water. Got that?" He tugged on my collar, making me nod so quickly that I thought I got whiplash. He released his hold and my hands went to my neck. I was gasping for air. Was I choking? I have no goddamn clue.

"Okay, remind me to never piss you off again," I say, coughing.

"Don't worry. You won't need to be reminded," he says, moving back to his dry spot in the awning. We stay there, waiting for the rain to die down. I mean, I'm completely fine with going out in the rain but I'd rather have Alex as a backup. Or Fetch. She's probably still eating though, so waiting it is.

Thankfully the rain dies down not too long after. I was hoping that, or else we may have been stuck here for a few hours. It's either a quick downpour or a few days long rain shower. No in-between. So, when's Fetch coming back?

" **Hey!** "

* * *

Fetch sat by me as Delsin sits in front of us. She can be quiet when she wants to be. That's a good thing to have as a sniper. The smirk she had told me she was planning something, which I gave a thumbs-up to. Payback without needing to plan anything is great.

The Delsin's reaction was even better though. He triggers his powers and runs into one of the awning's poles. Fetch must have found it as funny as I did, as she was laughing quite hard. It manages to put a smirk on my face, which I find to be an achievement. Delsin's glare doesn't compare to mine, though. In fact, it just makes the situation funnier.

"Really?" he asks.

"Consider it payback," I say as Fetch starts to calm down.

"You weren't even the one - nevermind," he says, turning to Fetch. "Hey Fetch, you know those glowing boxes the D.U.P put up all over town?"

"Yeah, I saw 'em," she says, regaining her breath. "Don't trust 'em. I think they can track us with 'em."

"Well, the good thing is I figured out a way to use 'em. Like, use 'em to tap into more powers for me. I was gonna try it out on the new Neon power you gave me…"

"'Gave' you?" she cut in.

"… And I thought you'd want to tag along with us. Talk with me through the new stuff, create some stronger bonds, you know, team stuff," I say.

Fetch shrugs. "I already bagged my dealer limit for the day, so why the hell not?"

"And there's my sweet girl," he says.

"Screw you," Fetch says.

"Just a warning, he tends to give the worst nicknames," I say. Delsin crosses his arms.

"Haha. Anyways, there's supposed to be one of those things at Second and Main," he says.

"I've seen that one before. Meet you there, D," she says, leaving behind her neon trail. Oh, Delsin walked into that one.

"Not a word, Al," he says, smirking before running after her. He's a dead man now. I run after them, following the pink and purple trails. Catching up to them was easy, the hard part was trying to get Delsin. He must literally be a gas when he runs if I can't even touch him.

I hear ethereal laughing from the side, so Fetch must be enjoying my attempts. Meanwhile, there are some yelps coming from the purple trail I'm currently jumping into. I wonder if Dana would find this funny as well.

"I told you not to call me Al!" I yell as I manage to tackle Delsin to a rooftop. He must not be able to keep dashing for long periods of time. I didn't stay on the ground for long though. I feel a slight burning sensation in my side, which means… Yep, fell into a puddle.

"Really? Al? That's the nickname you gave him!" Fetch says, stopping to laugh and help Delsin up.

"Yeah. So?" Delsin replies.

"Does he look remotely like an Al to you?" she says.

"Do I look like a 'D' to you?"

"Yeah. You look like a huge D," she says. Okay, that's just too good. I let out a quiet laugh but apparently, it was loud enough to catch their attention.

"I knew you'd get my humor!" Fetch says. Delsin shook his head, sighing and hopping down to another rooftop. I peer over the edge as a machine he shoots at pops open, metal flying everywhere.

"Well, are you two gunna come down?" he says.

"Naw, I'm cool. Conduit trackers and me don't get along," Fetch says, standing over the edge like myself.

"Same," I say.

"Hah! You admit it!" Delsin says, draining the Core Relay. I might have said something if the explosion of blue light didn't stop me. I didn't expect that neither was Delsin floating as well. This has been one hell of a night.

A couple of bullets fly past us as Delsin is stuck in his trance or whatever is going on. Sure enough, a pair of D.U.P grunts are on the roof of another building. Fetch says something along the lines of "oh shit" and runs off.

Looks like it's up to me. I let my tendrils run across my arms, hands changing into sharp claws. With a simple push, I lunge at the grunts. It's over before it even began. The first grunt gets a merciful end from decapitation. The second one isn't as lucky. I slice my claws across his chest, leaving deep gashes. I can hear him choking on his blood as I run claws across his neck.

Better check on… fuck.

* * *

"Alex, what the actual fuck!" I say. Why would he just… slaughter them?! He knows that Fetch isn't allowed to do it, so why the fuck would he do it!

"They were trying to kill you," he says with a straight face, like always. How? How can he not understand what he just did?

"Okay?! You're a Conduit! You could have just restrained them!" I say. He actually fucking growls and leaps over to the rooftop I'm on. What, is he gunna kill me too?

" **I**. **Am**. **Not**. **A**. **Conduit** ," he says, taking a step with each word. "I _never_ was a conduit, and never will be. I'm nothing like you."

"How about you prove that claim?" I say, crossing my arms. He stands still for a moment. Well, that- FUCKING HELL. Why the fuck did he just slice his head off?!

"WHAT THE FUCK, ALEX?!" I say as his head dissolves on the ground. A flurry of tendrils shoots out of his neck stump, making a black, lumpy sphere… I think I'm gunna throw up. It's moving around like a bunch of worms.

The shape forms back into Alex's face, like it wasn't just cut off. How?! How can he survive being decapitated?! I mean, I can survive bullets, but I don't think I could survive my head being detached from my body.

"So, does that help?" he says, his voice in perfect condition.

"Alex, seriously, what the fuck?"

"You said to prove my claim. Or would you like to see something- "

"Nope! You're good! Don't fucking do that or anything like that, please!"

"Then don't police me on how to take down people."

"Alex, but you can't just kill people. Reggie would get on my ass and Fetch would call me a hypocrite or something like that and get back to killing…" I sigh. "…It would just get out of hand, alright? I don't really care about the D. but right now, just try and not kill people."

Alex just stands there, frozen like a statue. It doesn't even look like he's breathing. He grunts and turns his back to me. "…Fine," he says, his tone saying otherwise.

With a sigh of relief, I focus my new power and shoot at a sign across the street. A single straight beam of neon shoots out of my hand, destroying the sign. Eh, all it does is feel more powerful. Gotta go against someone to see if it's any good. My phone starts to ring and I answer it.

"Hey, found another one of those trackers," Fetch says… Wait, how did she get my number?

"Okay, hey, one question, how did you get my number?" I say.

"Your brother called me earlier and gave me your phone number. He said something about you forgetting to do that, which you did, and then warned me to stay by his side."

"Of course he did. Now, where is the next tracker?"

"I left you signs to find it. Can you see it? It's a neon marker, obviously," she says. I look around, finding a little circle of pink neon attached to the side of a building.

"Uh, yeah. Got it…"

"Just follow those," she says, ending the call. I turn to Alex, who refuses to turn back around.

"So… just don't try and kill anyone, okay?"

"I thought you said I couldn't kill anyone?" he says. "Already going back on your word?"

I sigh. Seriously, he's acting like a toddler, yet he looks like he's in his thirties.

"No, but… how do I explain this? I won't say that I haven't killed anyone, I know I have, but I try not to kill anymore for my brother's sake. I could care less if I leave D. alive if they're shooting at me. Hell, I want to get back at them for the Akomish. So, like me, could you just keep your level of… blood down to a minimum," I say.

Alex turns his head towards me, his eyes glowing underneath his hood. What, does he have neon for his eyes? His stare doesn't let up until he turns away again. He seems to let up on his tense figure with his shoulders dropping a bit.

"I can understand that," he says. "I won't make any promises… but I'll try."

Thank God. Now I don't have to deal with an angry Alex and a pissed off Reggie. I look back over to the neon circles, the trail going across many buildings.

"C'mon Alex. We gotta go get destroy some more trackers," I say. Alex turns around on final time, nodding at me. I start dashing along, following the neon circles.

Along the way, I see some of Fetch's work. A skull with sharp teeth and some lines going away from it to go around a couple bodies. Although, it doesn't seem like the people she used are breathing. I call Fetch and thankfully she picks up.

"Hey Fetch, I just stumbled across a bit of your handiwork. Think ya maybe want to dial it down a notch?" I say. I feel a stare on my back and I could guess just who was causing that.

"Gotta feed the fury, dude," Fetch says.

"Or maybe you don't feed the fury," I say. "It'll starve to death and you might become a people person, like me." And there's a scoff from a certain someone. Like he's a people person. He's the _least_ people person I know.

"Or, or maybe you can bite me," she says, ending the call. I turn the man crouching behind me as he shrugs.

"What did you expect? Now, let's get going," Alex says, getting back to the trail. I sigh and pocket my phone, following him. We go through a tunnel and end up at a dock. Sure enough, there's Fetch shooting at some drug dealers.

"Yeah, take that you poison-peddling garbage. It's what you deserve," Fetch says, shooting a laser at one of the guys and killing him. "Hey, Smokes, you want in on this?"

Okay, that's a better nickname. Not that much better though. I immediately try my new power, finally seeing that it's fucking awesome. All I have to do is focus on someone's legs and when I shoot, it restrains them! No more needing to get close too! This is so fucking useful! Well, it is when they DON'T MOVE. I keep missing the last two guys!

And then Alex jumps down and grabs the two dealers and tosses them into the water. Well… that's one way not to kill them. And it's an inconvenience so double punishment I guess. I'm not complaining.

"Haha! Take a swim you pieces of shit!" Fetch says, laughing on the roof.

Well, at least Fetch approves of that. Maybe it's one way I could convince her to stop killing. I blast open the Core Relay and absorb the energy from it. It kinda feels like electricity whenever it happens, making me curl up as I try to completely absorb it. Wait… that'd be a cool power to get!

And there's the ground. God, I hate that it lifts me up. Well, the good news is that this power feels similar to my smoke grenades.

"Dude, you okay?" Fetch yells from above.

"Yeah, yeah," I say. Alex on the other hand, well he's looking at something.

"Drug dealers incoming. Looks like these guys had friends," he says.

"Need help with this one, Fetch?" I say.

"Don't need it, but I'll take it," she says.

Sure enough, four drug dealers turn the corner. I chuck a grenade at them. Although, 'grenade' wouldn't be the right word. It lifts the dealers up into the air and they stay there for a few seconds. Fetch kills one guy but restrains another. I lob another… bubble? Yeah, bubble is good. I lob one and Fetch restrains the last two. Three out of four, making progress.

"Another group, bigger one this time," Alex says.

"Okay. You two got this. I'll go find another one of those things," Fetch says. She gets up and starts running, leaving behind her signature trail.

Once the dealers turn the corner, I lob a bunch of the bubbles. I try to shoot them but I must have used up too much of my energy. Alex jumps in, a bunch of tendrils shooting out his arms and back, pining every single dealer to the ground.

"I can't restrain people, so hurry up and do it," he says. So… it's either this or throwing people into the water? Eh, I'll take what I can get with Alex.

I'll admit though, having Alex restrain all these guys at once makes my job easier. After securing a good ten dealers, I turn to the bright pink neon trail.

"No other dealers coming?" I ask.

"No. We're good," he says.

"Good. Now, back to getting powers!" I say, dashing to Fetch's trail and following it again. I swear, she's fast but this neon trail is gunna give her away someday. Wait… I already did that.

I stop as her trail ends, but sure enough, her neon circles are along the buildings. A ring from my phone and I can already guess who's calling.

"Okay, I think I got the next one. Just keep following the markers," she says. I keep going but I can hear the thud and crunch of Alex jumping from one building to the next.

"So, how'd you like killing those dealers? It's a fuzzy jolt, ain't it?" she says. I nearly stop at that. Okay, so probably only a little progress made in the no-killing area.

"I just taught them a lesson and left them to think things over. I didn't kill them," I say. "Look, we have powers, they don't. Means we have to be the better people. Cut them a little slack now and then. Think about it."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever," she says, hanging up.

Jeez, this is gunna take a lot more work than I thought.

* * *

 **Goodness! It's been a while! Sorry, I've had a few tough classes the past couple months and I couldn't work this. So, I tried to make this one longer than normal to make up for it.**

 **Feedback is always welcome!**


	8. Chapter 7

Seriously, what did Delsin _expect_? He can't change people within a day, no matter how hard he tries. I mean, he's got a general idea of what to do but he needs to understand that people can't change easily. He couldn't change me if he tried. I mean, Dana has tried in the past and in the end, we just had to compromise. Thankfully, Delsin seems to understand that as well and did a small compromise.

Still can't tell him what I really am, though. I don't think he'd like learning about my diet. I don't think anyone would, in fact.

Now, where is the next tracker? I thought it would be in the city, but it seems to be farther out. Eh, I guess it would make sense. If they're trackers, then the D.U.P would want to know if a Conduit was around the outskirts. I never liked nature though, always getting in my way whenever I was trying to run around. It's nice when you're just taking a stroll, but it sure as hell isn't great when you're running from something.

Sure enough, the markers lead to a tracker, with Fetch standing beside it. Delsin and I stop as Fetch points back at the tracker.

"There it is. Go ahead and get your convulsion on," she says. Delsin breaks open the tracker and, well, 'gets his convulsion on' while Fetch and I stand by. Like every other one, though, someone comes to interrupt us.

The D.U.P roll up with a couple of their APCs, sirens blaring. Fetch runs off, again. Seriously, she could easily wipe out these guys with me. I break out the claws as the vehicles come closer.

"We have you outgunned. Surrender!" they yell through their speakers.

"You first," I hear behind me as a huge beam shoots past and destroys one of the APCs. Okay, the new power is large beams. Got it.

"Could you be more careful next time? I'd rather not get beamed," I say, looking behind at Delsin. Sure enough, he has a huge grin on his face.

"Sure," he says in a rush. "Now, back to giant laser beams!" He shoots another beam at the other vehicle, destroying it as well as knocking down a couple D. with shields. Delsin restrains one while I chuck another at a tree, knocking him out.

"Uh… where are we supposed to go now?" he asks. I tap his shoulder and point at the obvious markers. How did he not see them?

"Got it," he says, dashing off to them. I jump ahead of him easily and find another piece from Fetch. Even though she didn't really have time to make it complicated, she can make swirls with ease, it seems. At the end of each line was a drug dealer, and each one was alive… to an extent. They were groaning, and one was passed out. Pretty sure they're going to have bruises in an hour. One might need to have their arm put back into their socket, as well. That, or it's broken. Delsin lands beside me, whistling. He brings out his phone and dials someone. I can already guess who.

"Fetch, I see you've started taking these dealers down alive. Can't help but think I had something to do with that," he says.

"Yeah, all you egomaniacs think you're the reason for everything that happens in the world," she says over the phone. I chuckle at that. Delsin glares at me.

"No, I don't think I'm the reason for… everything. I mean, just your highly visible change in behavior, that's all," he says, the call ends.

"You do realize that these guys aren't doing so well, right?" I say.

"Well, yeah, but it's having them alive that counts," he replies. I shrug and head off to the next marker, Delsin the one trailing behind this time.

Not too long after, though, I hear gunfire and speed up. The sounds aren't slow and simple, like a pistol. No, they're fast and sharp, like an assault rifle. And I'm pretty sure that drug dealers don't have easy access to those types of guns in a military zone.

I jump over a building easily and find the source of the gunfire. D.U.P, of course, but a certain magenta-haired person was fighting them. Does she usually clear out the areas before we arrive at them? No, there would be bodies then. So why is she fighting them now?

Either way, I get the drop on them, literally. I slam down onto the ground, creating a crater around my feet. I would have let out my Groundspikes, but that would involve killing and right now, that's a no-go. Instead, I grab one of the stunned D. and toss him into the air.

A pink laser hit their leg, wrapping them up in neon in midair. I toss up the other two, catching the other guy and tossing them back onto the ground. A pink and purple beam shoot the two of them, wrapping them both up. As I grab them, I see Delsin come into view from where he shot.

"Well now, what do we have here? Is it-" he gasps, "bonding?!" He hops down from the roof, walking up to the tracker.

"Didn't know you had it in you, Alex. You're, like, the least friendly guy I know."

"C'mon, D, give the guy a break. After all, he's been dealing with you all night," Fetch says. I smirk while Delsin gives us both a middle finger. He turns and starts to drain the tracker.

"So, how many more to go?" I ask Fetch.

"Pretty sure this is the last one," she replies. I hear multiple alarms blaring with tire screeches. Soon enough, the source made itself apparent. A bunch of D.U.P APCs stops in front of us, unloading all the soldiers they had.

Shit, Delsin is still doing his thing. What's taking this one so long? I jump in front of him, putting up my shields just as the D. started to unload their guns. Thank god it's only assault rifles, otherwise, my shields wouldn't last. With a tap on my shoulder, I look behind at a perfectly fine Delsin.

"Hey, it's my turn with these guys," he says. "By the way, you might want to get behind me."

I nod, dropping my shields as neon starts to swirl around Delsin. I jump behind as he lets out to a pulse of neon. Purple strands flow around, making every D.U.P float up off the ground. Delsin reforms from the neon, floating off the ground. He then lets out a barrage of neon bullets, covering the entire area in front of him. As he floats down, one by one, the bullets explode, restraining every D.U.P and destroying the APCs.

…Similar to my Devastators.

Okay, after this, I have to Fetch about what happened to her before she came to Seattle, besides the drug use. If what I think is happening, is happening _again_ , then there will be no mercy towards Augustine.

I hear ringing and sure enough, Delsin is picking up his phone. I can guess who's on the other end, since they didn't stick around, again.

"Damn, dude. Whatever that was, I heard it from here," Fetch says.

"You know, anytime you wanna actually hang around for one of these things…" Delsin says, trailing off. I'm inclined to agree with him, at this point. She always races off whenever a single D.U.P agent shows up, even though she can easily take them out.

"I've been thinking about what you said before… about the drug dealers on the street?"

"Oh yeah? What you been thinking about them?"

"The way I see it, going after those ass-scum dealers is just small time, but going up the food chain a little, finding the supplier? That'll change things."

"Well, I'd be glad to tag along the next trip you make up the food chain."

"Sure, it'll be like a date with death. I'll give you a call if anything comes up," Fetch says, hanging up. Delsin turns to me, yawning.

"Well, this has been one Hell of a night," he says. I nod, noticing the dark sky turning purple.

"So, do you want me to keep an eye on Fetch, or can I just do whatever?" I ask.

"Eh… I don't care. Just don't do what we talked about. I don't want Reggie on my ass after I fall asleep."

"Okay. Here's my number," I say, giving him my number. "Call me whenever you wake up."

I jump away, trying to find where the Hell Fetch ran off to. Good thing I'm a great tracker… and that Fetch has a really obvious trail she leaves behind.

* * *

I watch as Alex jumps off to… somewhere. Ah well, at least I can call him anytime. I don't know how he's not tired, though. We were both awake for, what, an entire night? I mean, I certainly don't feel as tired as I should, but I'm still goddamn tired.

…And now I'm rambling. Okay, that's it, time to crash at Reggie's.

I dash back to Reggie's, taking note of some good places for some art. I'll plan out some stencils when I wake up. When I walk into the apartment, Reggie is wide awake, brewing coffee.

"Jesus, Delsin. You okay?" he asks.

"Yeah, just tired," I say, dropping onto the couch.

"So, how was Conduit Club?"

"It was fine. I managed to get Fetch to chill out on the drug dealers, at least a little bit."

"Define a 'little bit'."

"She leaves them alive, but she does rough them up a bit."

"Delsin-"

"Yeah, I know it's not okay to assault people. Just, it's progress, alright? Changing people is… really fucking hard," I say, burying my face into the couch. Why is it so hard?

"Why do you say that?"

"Just… I don't think I've ever actually changed anything before. And, apparently, changing can be really hard."

"Like a brother trying to get his sibling to quit his rebellious ways?" Reggie says. Oh my god, I can fucking hear the smirk.

"Okay, fine, yeah. Exactly like that."

"Good to see that you understand. That's one of the first steps to becoming a better person," he says. "Now, get some sleep, Delsin."

I hear something being placed on the coffee table. I turn my head and see a mug of something. I reach over and pull it close. It's goddamn hot chocolate. Fuck yeah. I gulp it down and pass out on the couch.

Reggie's hot chocolate is the _fucking best_.

* * *

 **Hey everyone! The last part is me trying to expand upon Reggie's character. He just kinda felt underdeveloped in the actual game, ya know? So, more headcanon-y part there but I feel like it helps.**

 **Feedback is welcome!**


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